I’m stunned. Truly.
It’s not that I buy into worship of a coach. I also don’t expect blind loyalty or to expect Pitt to be everyone’s dream job. I just never expected that Graham would bolt after only 1 season. Let alone having him take off after a 6-6 season.
Pitt’s players were informed in a statement from Graham that was sent via text by assistant athletic director/football operations Blair Philbrick.
“I have resigned my position at Pitt in the best interest of my family to pursue the head coaching position at Arizona State,” Graham said. “Coaching there has always been a dream of ours and we have family there. The timing of the circumstances have prohibited from telling you this directly. I now am on my way to Tempe to continue those discussions. God Bless. Coach Graham.”
According to Paul Zeise’s tweet, when the DickRod assistants bolted, Graham called them “mercenaries.”
Right now, they are looking a lot better than Todd Graham.
I’m just hoping he gets June Jones’d at the last minute.
Feel free to vent. I’ll be drinking in a corner.
Everyone talking about how the recruits are sticking with Pitt. I admire them for it…but remember this is the initial reaction…human nature.
Once coaches start whispering in there ears about stability and the emotion settles…recruits will move. That too is human nature. They are kids still.
That is why Pitt has to act quickly. Which as we saw last year has high risk for disaster.
Unfortunately, Steve P. needs to stay at least in name.
As my brother said in a phone conversation…remove him from making the decision and perhaps promote from within and have Steve resign sometime in April.
That way the new coach will be the “new” AD’s (who was promoted within)choice and not smilin Steve.
That way we don’t have to see this potentially happen 3 years in a row.
Remember, we lost a class last year and Wanny’s class the year prior was nothing to write home about. Losing a third year can be a disaster that sets this program back 5 years.
DaveD
Dr. Tom. Very eloquently said.
As for as the wife excuse, these college HC’s are just as bad as the whores in politics. I believe the little wifey was used as an excuse for Handy Herman Cain. Even though this pol whore was having a 13 year affair with another woman, the wifey was used as the excuse to ‘suspend’ his campaign. These people have no shame and one has to question are these parasites really human beings at all?
The pic of Graham at the ASU presser in the PG with the Devil’s trident right above him was very apropos. He even had the little Trident lapel pin on his suitcoat, much like the pols with their little USA flag lapel pins while they’re selling out the country as fast as they can.
God Bless America !
Veritas et virtus !
Hail to Pitt !
Also, rule #1 is to avoid an inexperienced coach. If you don’t have years of coordinator status you are not ready to run a significant program. It doesn’t matter if you recruited successfully for LSU or OSU.
#2 Make sure that if hiring a coordinator that he is the brains behind his own success because there are coordinators in college football who are totally reliant on their staff.
#3 Don’t be fooled by the Asst. Head Coach title because they only get that moniker when they are incapable of running an offense or defense.
And finally for those who disparage Temple you should know that that Temple has placed more players in the NFL in the last two years than Pitt.